ESSENDON has conceded it made a grave mistake by “self-reporting” concerns about its controversial injections program.

In another dramatic twist to the ongoing saga yesterday, Essendon chairman Paul Little admitted the club “gave away all our leverage” by granting drug authorities and the AFL total access to grill players and staff over allegations the Bombers took banned substances in 2012.

The Bombers were hit with the most severe penalties in AFL history — wiping them from last year’s finals series and leaving a cloud over players’ futures — after they asked the league and ASADA to investigate its off-site injections program headed by Stephen Dank.

Essendon came forward less than 24 hours after a telephone call took place between AFL chief Andrew Demetriou and ex-Essendon chairman David Evans.

In a writ filed with the Victorian Supreme Court by suspended coach James Hird, it was alleged AFL deputy CEO Gillon McLachlan said words to the effect of: “If you come forward earlier and invite ASADA to investigate, then the investigation will look better for you.”

But Little yesterday expressed some regret over the move, saying it had backfired on the club.

“I have this view that maybe self-reporting didn’t work all that well for us because we gave away all of our leverage,” Little said on Triple M radio.

“I think whilst self-reporting allowed the various authorities that needed to get involved, it gave them an unfettered sort of access to the football club, to individuals and to everything else.

“I just think it could perhaps have overly-complicated a process that didn’t need to be quite that complicated.”

The AFL has strongly denied it tipped off Essendon about investigations into the club’s alleged banned drug use.

Evans has remained silent on the matter since standing down as chairman due to health concerns, two days after the Herald Sun revealed details of the phone call and the crisis meeting at his house in February.

Little says the Bombers never had some sort of control over their destiny. Picture: Tim CSource:News Corp Australia

His replacement, Little, yesterday said the club accepted responsibility for some failings regarding what former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski described in an internal report as “a disturbing picture of a pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented within the club”.

“We accept that we were guilty of some of the lesser charges and we said we were and we’ve copped that penalty and we have moved on,” Little said.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that (Essendon would have been cleared of all wrongdoing if it did not self report).

“I just think that in any situation you’ve got to retain some sort of control over your own destiny and we did not have that.”

McLachlan remains favourite to replace Demetriou as AFL CEO despite serious questions over the AFL’s handling of the supplement scandal.